LA to discover independence movement relics

Lee Jun-Sik, president of the Independence Hall of Korea (left), and Ji Geon-gil, chairman of the Overseas Korean Cultural Heritage Foundation, hold up a written agreement at the Independence Hall of Korea in Cheonan City, Chungcheongnam-do Province, on April 26. (Independence Hall of Korea)

By Kang Gahui and Hahm Hee-eunThe Overseas Korean Cultural Heritage Foundation announced on Sept. 4 that it is launching a joint event with the Independence Hall of Korea and the Korean Cultural Center in Los Angeles. The theme of the event will be “Finding Korea in the U.S.” and it will run from Nov. 5 to 10 in Los Angeles. This is the first joint project for the foundation and the Independence Hall of Korea. Through this event, organizers hope that Korean cultural assets and historical materials possessed by overseas Koreans will come into the spotlight.

Within North America, LA was the representative stronghold for the Korean independence movement during the Japanese colonial period (1910-1945). Thus, LA is home to historical sites and monuments that are related to many independence activists.

As part of the event, participants will be able to bring their collection of ceramics, or paintings, or documents to the Korean Cultural Center in Los Angeles where they will be examined by antiquity experts from Nov. 5 to 6. Importantly, any artifacts from the independence movement can be donated there. If they are considered valuable or of historical importance, they will be preserved at the Independence Hall in Korea and be used for research, educational and exhibition purposes.

On Nov. 10, a special tour program will be arranged that will visit independence movement sites in LA, including the assembly hall of the Korean National Association, part of the Heung Sa Dahn, also known as the Young Korean Academy, the residence of Dosan Ahn Chang-ho, and the Rosedale Cemetery, where 18 independence activists are buried.

For more information, please call +82-2-6902-0731 or contact the Overseas Korean Cultural Heritage Foundation in the U.S. at +1-202-844-3330, or at its website (www.overseaschf.or.kr).